Saturday, February 12, 2011

Judy Kensley McKie

I did a search for notable women woodworkers and chose Judy Kensley McKie partly because there's an extensive and intimate interview online (http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-judy-kensley-mckie-12483) and because her work involved both furniture and sculpture. Also, she started out by studying graphic arts, which personally appealed to me.

Her father worked for a greeting card company and enjoyed making simple furniture, a hobby he passed on to Judy. Her mother made the greeting cards for the same company. Judy started making small simple pieces like tables for herself after she finished her degree until friends started asking her to make them furniture. She had always had an affinity for building things but she didn't associate this interest as a career focus until later. Painting was her original focus.

She a big figure in the "american studio furniture movement" (1940-1990) which is a period where furniture and art blurred; furniture are one-of-a-kind pieces created in studios.

Her work is characterized by strong forms with whimsy in the treatment of animal/organic forms that recur through her work. She is appreciative of woodworking in other cultures with decorative elements that do not take away from the overall form. She has worked in a large variety of ways with a variety of materials from stone, wood, painting, casting in bronze, etc., and hates to repeat herself.

I thought it was interesting that she started out by making functional, simple furniture "for the people" in a cooperative where she learned from other woodworkers. She then wanted to make them more personal with carvings of animal figures that she still uses today.

I also found that her son was murdered senselessly and she used that experience to create a sculpture to help grieving parents manage their loss. Even during so-called mental breaks, she works to get through the period, often using the material in future pieces.

1 comment:

Stunning work. Her "Pyramid Chest" was featured in the "Furniture Divas" show at Fuller Craft Museum (2/19 - 10/30/11) Check out pictures of her and the other furniture divas from the opening reception at http://www.facebook.com/fullercraft